Chapter 139: Origin

"You know the whereabouts of a blessed land?! Don't tell me you mean the blessed lands hidden within Dragon City. Only a handful of people know about those, and they are top-secret domains of the Taoist sects."

Tianbao looked at Zhang Shouzhen in stunned disbelief. His arrival in Dragon City was no accident, as he knew of the blessed lands located here. However, they were all guarded by practitioners of the Taoist sects and concealed by formations. Even as a transformed demon, he had suffered severe injuries and dared not approach them recklessly, forcing him to linger here. Hearing Zhang Shouzhen mention a blessed land reignited hope in his heart; as long as he could borrow the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth from within a blessed land, his demonic core injuries would quickly heal.

"Of course I'm not talking about the Dragon City blessed land. Wait, is there a blessed land in Dragon City? Then why couldn't I sense any such spiritual Qi of heaven and earth within the city?"

Zhang Shouzhen was slightly taken aback, but excitement immediately surged into his eyes as he asked without hesitation.

"Of course you couldn't sense it, because the blessed lands inside Dragon City have had their auras masked by the joint formations of Taoist masters. Furthermore, through special processing methods, this spiritual Qi is completely prevented from leaking outward, kept for their exclusive enjoyment. I might as well tell you my true form: I am originally a cyan crane, having cultivated near Mount Kunwu for eight hundred years. Because my species is quite special, my spiritual intelligence awakened right after birth. However, I was not hatched within my flock, but rather nurtured by Huayuan of your Heavenly Dao Sect, using the spiritual Qi of the Heavenly Dao Sect and his own vital blood. I finally transformed into human form in my five-hundredth year."

A nostalgic expression crossed Tianbao's face as he spoke slowly.

"What?! You cultivated near Mount Kunwu? That's the location of our Heavenly Dao Sect's mountain gate! Huayuan is none other than the third-generation patriarch of our Heavenly Dao Sect!"

Zhang Shouzhen was utterly shocked. Jiuer was also visibly stunned, sticking her tongue out at Zhang Shouzhen.

"The two of you are disciples of the Heavenly Dao Sect? No wonder you could injure Xiong Kun like this. Only the Heavenly Dao Sect could cultivate disciples like you. After all, within Mount Kunwu, there are paradises and blessed lands. The ten major branches of the Heavenly Dao Sect are established atop ten blessed lands respectively, which is why the Heavenly Dao Sect boasts such a wealth of talent."

A bitter smile appeared on Tianbao's face, his eyes holding indescribable emotions.

"Tianbao, you're not joking, are you? There are ten blessed lands on Mount Kunwu? And the ten branch lineages are built right on top of them? How come I've never heard of this? Jiuer, did you know?"

Zhang Shouzhen's mind buzzed as if it were about to explode. He suddenly thought of his master, who had always spoken of wanting to return to the Azure Dragon Branch of the Heavenly Dao Sect. Because of high-level internal conflicts within the sect, Qingxu had been unwilling to mention these matters to him. But thinking about it now, this was undoubtedly closely intertwined with the blessed lands. He just wondered how the Azure Dragon lineage was faring now, whether any disciples still remained, and exactly who had seized control of the Azure Dragon lineage.

Aside from the Azure Dragon lineage, the Yinsha lineage where Jiuer belonged was probably no better off; otherwise, Meng Shiniang would not have been wandering outside with Jiuer, a situation bound to involve old grievances with the Heavenly Dao Sect.

Tianbao stared at Zhang Shouzhen with some puzzlement, his brows knitting slightly as he said, "Didn't you claim to be disciples of the Heavenly Dao Sect? Why do you know nothing of these matters? Aside from the ten branch lineages each possessing their own blessed land, the Heavenly Dao Sect's Law Enforcement Pavilion and Heavenly Dao Peak—where the sect leader resides—are actually paradises. Paradises are even higher-level existences than blessed lands. When I was hatched back then, Huayuan nurtured me in the Law Enforcement Pavilion by utilizing the Qi of the paradise's spiritual veins. Little friend, you said you knew of another blessed land; you aren't tricking me, are you?"

"Of course I wouldn't trick you. Although I am a disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect, I followed my master wandering outside since childhood and have never returned to the sect. It's no wonder I don't know. Very well, let me share the information I have. Do you know Mount Qingluo? There is a Taoist tomb there that will open during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and this Taoist tomb is built upon a blessed land. Once the Taoist tomb manifests, the spiritual veins of the blessed land will also reappear."

Recalling Jiang Mingyue's words, Zhang Shouzhen held nothing back and revealed this information to Tianbao.

"Mount Qingluo? I have actually been to that mountain, but I found no immortal caves within it. Although the vegetation on Mount Qingluo is quite lush and the peaks are precipitous, there is no place with abundant spiritual Qi. So that place houses a Taoist tomb. It seems the tomb's owner used a powerful formation to seal the immortal cave, which is why I was unable to sense it.

"However, the Mid-Autumn Festival is fast approaching, and I have a prior commitment with an old friend, making it impossible for me to arrive when the Taoist tomb opens. Since you know of this place, I suppose it is no secret among your Taoist sects, and you might open the Taoist tomb in advance. Still, I must warn you to exercise caution in everything, because this immortal cave has been sealed for too long; there will be many oddities inside, and perhaps even curses."

Tianbao pursed his lips, raised his eyes to gaze into the distance, and seemed lost in thought.

"All right, we understand. This time when we go, we are merely trying our luck. If the Taoist tomb cannot be opened and the blessed land cannot reappear, there will be nothing we can do."

Zhang Shouzhen nodded.

Tianbao suddenly fixed his gaze on a nearby mountain, chuckled softly, and said to Zhang Shouzhen, "Your reinforcements have arrived. I must take my leave."

Without waiting for Zhang Shouzhen to reply, Tianbao stretched out his arms. Cyan Qi swirled around them, gradually transforming into rows of cyan feathers as a pair of wings slowly formed. With a downward beat of his wings wreathed in cyan Qi, he instantly transformed into a streak of light and sped away toward the horizon.

By the time Zhang Shouzhen walked over to the car, two figures were rushing toward him at an extraordinary speed. One was dressed in a white lab coat with flowing hair; although wearing high heels, it did not affect her speed in the least, looking completely natural. The other was a robust man with wide-open, angry eyes. These two were none other than Qing Yutong and Tieniu.

"Young Master, it's so great that you're safe! Where is that wolf demon? This Grandpa Niu is going to twist his neck right off!"

Arriving at the scene, Tieniu sniffed the air, brandished his massive fists, and spoke in a loud voice.

"Are you blind? The demon has already run off without a trace."

Qing Yutong knocked Tieniu on the head, walked up to Zhang Shouzhen, and pinched his chin. Seeing the faint trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, her delicate brows furrowed as she asked, "Is it serious?"

Zhang Shouzhen shook his head and said, "It's not very serious, Sister Yutong, no need to worry. By the way, how is my Senior Brother?"

Seeing that Zhang Shouzhen did not bring up the matter of the demon, Qing Yutong wisely chose not to press further. Hearing his question, her expression turned rather grim, though she did not conceal the truth. "The demonic Qi is extremely potent and has already invaded Jiang Litian's internal organs. If you had brought him over earlier, there might have been a way.

"Given his current condition, decades ago I would have had the ability to treat him, but now my hands are tied because I lack a specific medicinal herb. That herb has virtually gone extinct."

"Then what is this herb called, Sister Yutong? No matter what it is, I will find it! I refuse to watch my Senior Brother die like this!"

Zhang Shouzhen clenched his fists and spoke with a resolute expression.

"He won't die, at worst he'll just turn into a half-human, half-demon existence. Who knows if this medicine can be found in the Three Realms Market? Even if it exists, without an invitation token, we won't even be able to find the Three Realms Market. If all else fails, we'll just storm Prajna Temple and snatch a sarira from those bald donkeys! That will drive the demonic Qi out of Jiang Litian's body just as well."

Tieniu said with a chuckle.

Qing Yutong glared at Tieniu. "If you want to die early, go ahead and storm Prajna Temple, but don't drag the Young Master down with you. Messengers from the Three Realms Market come out every year to distribute tokens, which mainly depends on individual fate. For now, I've sealed the major acupoints on Jiang Litian's body, which can only prolong the time before the demonic Qi spreads. This herb is called Sun Poria; it grows perpetually under direct sunlight, and its appearance is..."